June-bearing strawberry named Chambly

ABSTRACT

A Nordic-type strawberry variety named &#34;Chambly&#34; combines the characteristics of cold-hardiness, adaptability to various soil conditions, vigor and strength, absence of suckering and its high yield of firm, deep red fruit with raised neck, elevated calyx and uniform well-colored flesh. Chambly yields strawberries characterized by an excellent taste (slightly sugary), a very fresh appearance and appealing texture, with a real strawberry aroma and no noticeable aftertaste.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinctive cultivar ofstrawberry plant named Chambly. This cultivar belongs to the genusFragaria, whose fruits are juicy edible and usually red, cultivated forculinary purposes.

Species of strawberry plants vary in color, size, shape, acidity, andother commercially important and botanically significantcharacteristics. Strawberries frequently bear flowers and fruitsimultaneously, and fruit tends to ripen randomly on the stems.

ORIGIN OF THE VARIETY

The new cultivar of the present invention was developed in L'Acadie,Quebec from a cross between "Sparkle" and "Honeoye". "Sparkle", apreviously popular commercial cultivar in eastern Canada, is noted forits high fruit flavor (Craig, D. L., 1979, Culture du fraisier dansl'est du Canada, Agriculture Canada, Publ. 1585). "Honeoye" is ahigh-yielding cultivar with large fruit size well-adapted to thenortheast (Estabrooks and Luffman, 1989, Strawberry cultivar evaluatinin New Brunswick, Canada, Adv. Strawberry Production, 8: 58-61)."Chambly" has been tested at Agriculture Canada, L'Acadie, Quebec, since1984. L'Acadie is located 35 km south of Montreal (45°) at an elevationof about 46 m above seal level. Climate at L'Acadie is charactrerized bylow temperatures in winter (below -25° C.), cool, humid conditions inspring, and warm, humid conditions (25° to 35° C., 70% relativehumidity) in summer.

`Chambly` is a result of a cross between `Sparkle`×`Honeoye`. The seedparent, `Sparkle` was a product of `Fairfax` (from `RoyalSovereign`×`Howard 17`)×`Aberdeen`. The pollen parent `Honeoye` was aproduct of `Vibrant` (from `Sparkle`×`Valentine`)×`Holiday` (from`NY844`×`Raritan`).

A new variety was originated from a cross made in a controlled breedingprogram in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. The straberry variety of thepresent invention, `Chambly` was discovered and selected as a plantwithin the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment inSt-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. Asexual reproduction of the new variety,as performed at St-Jean-sur-Richelieu in the greenhouse has demonstratedthat the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for the newvariety are firmly fixed and are retained through successive generationsof asexual reproduction.

This new cultivar can be asexually reproduced either by tip-cutting ortissue culturing. It can also be sexually reproduced such as by seedpropagation.

DESCRPTION OF THE PRODUCTION

The accompanying photographs illustrate the color and other features ofthe new cultivar showing it in various stages of fruit maturation.

FIG. 1 is a view of a strawberry plant of the Chambly variety, showingthe fruit in different stages of maturity.

FIG. 2 is a close-up view of fruits of the variety in different stagesof maturity. FIG. 3 is a close-up view of the mature fruit of thevariety and, in addition, provides a good view of the leaves of theplant.

FIG. 4 is a close-up view of the leaves of the variety.

FIG. 5 is a close-up view of the flowers of the variety.

FIG. 6 is a view of the velvet stem of the variety.

FIG. 7 shows the classification of strawberry fruit with respect tothier calyx, neck and achene position.

FIG. 8 is a view of fruits of the variety grown in a field and indifferent stages of maturity.

FIG. 9 is a close-up view of the mature fruit of the variety grown in afield.

FIG. 10 is a close-up view of the leaves of the variety grown in afield.

DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETY

The cultivar of the present invention is the first June-bearingstrawberry cultivar (Fragaria×ananassa Duch.) bred specifically forsouthern Quebec conditions. This cultivar was released because of itshigh yields of firm, deep red fruit with raised neck, elevated calyx,and uniform well-colored flesh. Therefore, it is recommended for freshmarket and processing.

Chambly adapts to various soils, but prefers neutral (approximately pH6.8) to acid soil.

"Chambly" plants are of low vigor (Table 1), medium in size, with fourto six inflorescences per plant, and can tolerate winter temperaturesbelow -25° C. (with 10 cm of straw mulch cover).

                                      TABLE 1                                     __________________________________________________________________________    Ratings for fruit and plant characteristics of                                "Chambly" and standard strawberry cultivars..sup.z,y                          Variables.sup.x                                                                           Chambly                                                                            Bounty                                                                            Glooscap                                                                           Honeoye                                                                            Kent                                                                              Redcoat                                                                            Sparkle                               __________________________________________________________________________    Fruit color 4.0 a                                                                              3.3 b                                                                             3.0 b                                                                              3.0 b                                                                              2.5 c                                                                             3.0 b                                                                              3.0 b                                 Interior fruit color                                                                      4.0 a                                                                              3.0 bc                                                                            3.1 b                                                                              3.0 bc                                                                             2.5 cd                                                                            2.8 bc                                                                             2.0 d                                 Flavor      3.7 a                                                                              3.8 a                                                                             3.1 b                                                                              3.0 b                                                                              3.0 b                                                                             3.0 b                                                                              3.6 a                                 Firmness    3.8 a                                                                              2.0 d                                                                             2.6 cd                                                                             3.0 bc                                                                             3.3 ab                                                                            2.8 bc                                                                             2.0 d                                 Neck.sup.w  4.0 a                                                                              3.0 ab                                                                            3.4 ab                                                                             3.0 ab                                                                             3.5 ab                                                                            3.8 a                                                                              2.4 b                                 Calyx.sup.w 4.8 a                                                                              4.0 a                                                                             4.4 a                                                                              2.0 c                                                                              3.2 b                                                                             3.0 b                                                                              3.4 b                                 Ease of decapping                                                                         1.8 c                                                                              1.8 c                                                                             1.3 c                                                                              5.0 a                                                                              4.0 ab                                                                            3.6 b                                                                              2.4 c                                 Achene position.sup.w                                                                     3.0 a                                                                              3.0 a                                                                             2.0 a                                                                              2.0 a                                                                              2.3 a                                                                             2.8 a                                                                              2.3 a                                 Stolonization and vigor                                                                   3.0 c                                                                              4.0 abc                                                                           4.0 abc                                                                            3.3 bc                                                                             4.2 ab                                                                            4.3 ab                                                                             4.7 a                                 Leaf disease symptoms                                                                     4.4 a                                                                              3.0 b                                                                             4.0 a                                                                              3.3 ab                                                                             3.6 ab                                                                            3.0 b                                                                              3.0 b                                 __________________________________________________________________________     .sup.z Average of 2 years (1988-1989), using eight replicates except for      flavor, which is the average of 22 determinations, data were transformed      using an arcsin transformation prior to performing ANOVA.                     .sup.y Mean separation within row by Duncan's new multiple range test, p      0.05.                                                                         .sup.x Fruit color: 1 = pale, 5 = dark; interior fruit color; 1 = pale, 5     = dark; flavor: 1 = bad, 5 = good; firmness: 1 = soft, 5 = hard;              decapping: 1 = easy, 5 = difficult; stolonization and vigor: 1 = weak, 5      vigorous; leaf disease symptoms: 1 = entire leaf area affected, 5 = no        symptoms.                                                                     .sup.w For description, see FIG. 7.                                      

Prior to maturity, the fruit of the Chambly variety has a pink color.When fully ripe, the fruit has a reddish color identified with color7.5R 3/8 of the Munsell Book Colour Chart (Macbeth Division ofKollmorgen Corporation, 2441 N. Calvert Street, Baltimore, Md. 21218).

The prior-to-maturity strawberries shown in FIG. 8 have a dark pinkcolor identified with color 7.5R 5/14 of the Munsell Book Colour Chart(MacBeth Division of Kollmorgen Corporation, 2441 N. Calvert Street,Baltimore, Md. 21218). When fully ripe (FIG. 9), the fruit has a reddishcolor identified with color 7.5R 4/14 of the Munsell Book Colour Chart.

Fruit shape is conic and the calyces are reflexed (FIG. 7 and 9; Table1). Fruits are medium size (8 to 10 g) with a white, raised (2 to 3 mm)neck (FIGS. 2 and 3; Table 3). Skin is shiny and deep red at maturity,and the flesh is red throughout (FIG. 3, Table 2).

                  TABLE 2                                                         ______________________________________                                        Comparison of the yield and average fruit size of                             "Chambly" with standard strawberry cultivars grown at                         L'Acadie, Quebec..sup.z                                                                     Yield         Fruit wt                                          Cultivars     (g/2-m row)   (g/fruit)                                         ______________________________________                                        Chambly       5970 a.sup.y  8.9 a                                             Bounty        4330 cd       6.9 b                                             Glooscap      5690 ab       7.5 ab                                            Honeoye       4940 bc       9.1 a                                             Kent          5630 ab       8.9 a                                             Redcoat       3470 c        6.6 b                                             Sparkle       3780 de       6.5 b                                             ______________________________________                                         .sup.z Average of 3 years (1987-1989), using eight replicates.                .sup.y Mean separation within columns, by Duncan's new multiple range         test, P = 0.05.                                                          

The leaves, when fully developed, have a dark green color, correspondingto color 7.5 GY 3/4 of the Munsell Book Colour Chart and arethree-lobed. Leaflets are slightly folded, medium size, obovate tospherical, with sharp serrations.

Petioles are moderately long and slightly drooping. Plants have a sparseappearance and have an average height lower than other strawberry plantvariety (FIG. 1). The "Chambly" strawberry plant of the presentinvention has an average height of about 9 inches and an average widthof about 20 inches, whereas the "Oka" strawberry plant has an averageheight of about 10 inches and an average width of about 24 inches. Thelower the strawberry plant is, the more the fruits are exposed tosunrays which accelerates the maturity process of the fruit.

The plant stems are hairy and have yellow/green color corresponding tocolor 5GY 6/8 of the Munsell Book Colour Chart.

The plants showns in the appended FIGS. 1 to 6 have been grown in agreenhouse with clear glass windows with a sun filter curtain whichblocks 60% of the sunrays (Cravo Equipment Ltd., Brantford, Ontario,Canada N3T 5L4). The plants have been grown with a sixteen (16) hourphotoperiod/day. Sodium high presure lamp of 400 W are used when theintensity of the sunrays is too low. The temperature inside thegreenhouse was 20° C. with 50% RH (relative humidity). It should beappreciated that "Chambly" fruits from "Chambly" plants grown outsideare bigger and of more reddish color than the fruits matured in agreenhouse.

The color evaluations described in FIGS. 1 to 6 were made in St-Jean,Quebec, Canada, on the morning of Mar. 13, 1992, at 11:45 AM in agreenhouse. Viewing was effected in filtered sunlight through a 60%sunblock curtain (Cravo Equipment Ltd.), under dry cool conditions of acloudy day with good visibility and a temperature of about -12° C.

The color evaluations described in FIGS. 8 to 10 were made in Lavaltrie,Quebec, Canada, on the morning of Jul. 7, 1992, at 9:30 AM in astrawberry field. Viewing was effected in direct sunlight under dry coolconditions of a cloudy day with good visibility and a temperature ofabout 60° F.

As shown in Table 3 below chemical analyses revealed substantialdifferences between "Chambly" and typical cultivated strawberryvarieties. These analyses involved comparisons of pH, Brix value(percent of soluble solids), acidity (percent of citric acid found inthe strawberries) and humitidy (percent of moisture).

                  TABLE 3                                                         ______________________________________                                                                Acidity (%)                                                    ph   Brix value                                                                              citric acid                                                                              Humidity                                   ______________________________________                                        Chambly variety                                                                          3.24   8.3       58       76.16                                    Typical cultivated                                                                       3.15   8.4       55       78.2                                     ______________________________________                                    

One of the major soluble components of strawberries and other soft fruitis its sugar. The sugar-to-acid ratio is important in determining flavorand commercial acceptability. Sensory evaluations indicated that Chamblyyields berries were characterized by an excellent taste (slightlysugary). Fruit flavor (sweetness) is similar to that of "Bounty" and"Sparkle" (Table 1). There is no noticeable aftertaste, and the fruitshas real strawberry aroma. It has also a very fresh appearnace andappealing texture.

Fruits are firm, similar to "Kent", and can be decapped as easily as"Glooscap". The calyx does not separate from the fruit at harvest time.Percent juice lost after thawing did not differ significantly (P=0.05,n=8) among cultivars and ranged from 42% to 53%. "Chambly" hasoutyielded "Bouty", "Honeoye", "Redcoat", and "Sparkle" in our trials(Table 2). Plants are partially tolerant of the herbicide terbacil[5-chloro-3-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-6-methyl-2,4(1H, 3H)pyrimidine-dione].No symptoms of powdery mildew (Sphaerotheca macularis Walls ex Fr.),leaf scorch (Diplocarpon carlina Ell. and Ev.), or leaf blight(Dendrophoma obscurans Ell. and Ev.) were observed during the course ofits evaluation (Table 2).

Inflorescences are held erect on long, moderately thick peduncles duringbloom, becoming arched (semi-erect) as the fruit mature. Inflorescencesgenerally have 10 to 20 flowers (FIG. 5).

Inflorescences of Chambly are produced from June until September innorthern temperate climates. Fruits ripen from June to late September inthis zone.

The variety should be planted in sunny and dry locations spaced about 10inches apart. Chambly is useful for home gardens, as well as"pick-your-own" and contract growing. After harvesting, all twigs thatproduced fruit, i.e., those that are two years old, should be pruned. Inaddition, side branches should be pruned on one year-old twigs.

The strawberry variety of the present invention, `Chambly`, requires ashort day length of less than 10 hours and low temperature (>0° C. forat least 45 days) to induce flowering.

Table 4 compares the flavor and texture attributes of the `Chambly`cultivar with six other strawberry cultivars.

                                      TABLE 4                                     __________________________________________________________________________    FLAVOR.sup.z                                                                  Cultivar                                                                           Strawberry                                                                          Sweetness                                                                           Astringency                                                                          Honey                                                                             Melon                                                                              Bitterness                                                                          Acidity                                __________________________________________________________________________    Bounty                                                                             10.4a 13.2a 5.4b   11.4a                                                                             10.6a                                                                              6.2cc 4.5c                                   Chambly                                                                            7.1bc 8.2bc 8.4a   8.7bc                                                                             8.5ab                                                                              8.8a  6.4bc                                  Glooscap                                                                           8.2bc 8.6b  6.9ab  9.1b                                                                              8.0b 8.4ab 7.5ab                                  Kent 9.0ab 6.9bc 7.7a   7.0cd                                                                             7.4b 6.6bc 8.9a                                   Midway                                                                             6.5c  6.9bc 8.9a   6.8cd                                                                             7.6b 8.5ab 8.7a                                   Oka  6.8c  6.4c  8.5a   6.2d                                                                              6.6b 8.0abc                                                                              8.9a                                   LSD.sup.x                                                                          2.1   2.0   2.1    2.1 2.1  2.1   2.0                                    __________________________________________________________________________    TEXTURE.sup.y                                                                            Juiciness                                                                           Firmness                                                     __________________________________________________________________________               8.7abc                                                                              7.4b                                                                    9.5ab 8.8a                                                                    7.0c  7.4b                                                                    4.8d  8.4a                                                                    10.1a 4.2c                                                                    8.0bc 6.7b                                                                    2.0   0.9                                                          __________________________________________________________________________     .sup.z Each value is the total rank of at least 40 determinations.            .sup.y See FIG. 1 for details of scaling.                                     .sup.x Least significant difference at 5% level.                         

The line scale used to evaluate flavour and texture, skin colour,brightness, seediness and flesh colour is set forth in Table 5 below.

                  TABLE 5                                                         ______________________________________                                        Variable          Line Scale                                                  ______________________________________                                        Flavour           15 cm                                                       Strawberry flavour                                                                              none       strong                                           Sweetness         none       very                                             Astringency       none       strong                                           Honey flavour     none       strong                                           Melon flavour     none       strong                                           Bitterness        none       very                                             Acidity           none       very                                             Texture           15 cm                                                       Juiciness         none       very                                             Firmness          soft       very firm                                        Appearance        15 cm                                                       Skin colour       light red  dark red                                         Brightness        none       very                                             Seediness         not seedy  very                                             seedy                                                                         Flesh colour      light red  dark red                                         ______________________________________                                    

Susceptibility of the Chambly cultivar to red stele (Phytophthorafragariae Hickman) is not known and further experiments are needed todetermine the degree of resistance to different races of P. fragariae.

We claim:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of Fragaria×ananassa, named Chambly, as herein shown and described, characterized particularly as to uniqueness by the combined characteristics of cold-hardiness, adaptability to various soil conditions, vigor and strength, absence of suckering and its high yield of firm, deep red fruit with raised neck, elevated calyx and uniform well-colored flesh. 